Wang Shujin (right) in a photo with her course leader, Marta Ceballos Quintero, at the old part of Havana called La Habana Vieja. [Courtesy]

Dancing Salsa with suntanned beach boys at midnight parties and eating cerdo asado (roast pork) from street venders for just five pesos, one may find Havana like a perfect spot to spend the upcoming Spring Festival.

But Beijing Olympic volunteers aren't in the Cuban capital just to party the nights away. Instead, they are living like Latinos in order to serve Latino athletes next summer.

Wang Shujin, a 20-year-old from south China, says she no longer hesitates offering a warm beso en la mejilla, or kiss on the cheek, when she meets a new friend.

"I really like the way Cubans greet each other on the street," she wrote in an email to China Daily two months after arriving in Havana.

"They say 'mi vida (my life)' or 'mi amor (my lover)'. They sound really great and are very heartwarming," said Wang, who has studied Spanish for more than a year. She named herself Isabel, a popular Spanish name.

The Spanish major from Beijing Language and Culture University arrived in Havana last October with 19 other Olympic volunteers selected by Games organizers BOCOG from four Beijing universities, kicking off a four-month special training course at Havana University.

BOCOG arranged accommodation in Cuba and the national Young Communist League took care of the fees in Havana.

"We only pay 17,000 yuan ($1,800) for a discount round-trip plane ticket," Wang said.

Sporting nation

Wang, who is from Shenzhen, was chosen by BOCOG to be a National Olympic Committee (NOC) assistant, a volunteer that is responsible for arranging accommodation and transport for athletes and coaches during their stay in Beijing this summer. Her other classmates from Beijing are also volunteers in important sectors including language services and doping test services.

"Time has flown by in the past three months. I am learning a great deal," said Wang Kun, a junior who shares a room with Wang Shujin at Campus Cojmar of Havana University.

"We learn language of course, but also get to know many sports, and we begin to understand the local culture," she said.

The Beijing students attend Spanish classes each day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a gregarious teacher takes them to visit the national teams training in Havana. Students meet Cuban wrestlers and world famous volleyball players including Yaima Ortiz Charro from the women's volleyball squad. The students often take active part in the operations of different sports competitions, from marathons to badminton.

"We take this training very seriously," said Wang Shujin, who worked as a linesman for the first time during a badminton tournament.

"This training is professional, and we hope the experience here will give us the skills to serve the Olympics professionally this summer."

Cuba, which ranked 11th place with nine gold medals, seven silvers and 11 bronzes in the last Olympics, proved to be the ideal place for these Spanish speaking volunteers to gain insight into the Olympic Games.

"Our teacher, Lzaro (Fernandes Castellanos), told us that Cubans have a passion for sports in their blood," said Wang, who used to play forward on the girls' soccer team at her middle school. "Sports keep them feeling alive."

Malecon, the bay

Before going to Cuba, senior students from Wang Shujin's university in Beijing told her that Cuba looks great and that Cubans are like brothers and sisters to Chinese. In Havana, Wang fell in love with the silvery beach immediately and found herself ready to make new friends.

"I've made good friends with the local boys and boys from Venezuela and Bolivia," she said. "They are very passionate indeed, really outgoing. Being together with them makes me feel very happy."

She is also quite comfortable with the posters of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in the streets of Havana.

Her favorite place is the Malecn, or the bay, where thousands of locals spend their evenings. She said the waves and evening lights make the place very romantic.

"I won't forget the beach and the sea here," she said.

Wang Shujin said she would love to become an NOC assistant serving Hispanic delegations this summer.

Wang's mother, who compares the girls' living conditions to those of the youth opening up the wild west in China during the 1960s and 70s, said the four-month trip away from home is worth it.

"I have sent my daughter to exchange programs in Japan and New Zealand," said the 47-year-old university professor, who hopes her daughter will become a diplomat for China.

"I know exactly how overseas experience can help build a young woman's character," she said.